The California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce’s annual convention will show off Riverside to a big segment of the state’s business community, organizers said Friday.

“There’s no better time for the spotlight to be on the Inland Empire,” said Frank Montes, chairman of the oganization and owner of Inland Body & Paint in Fontana. “The region has a growing economy, it’s a great place for families and has a very diverse populaton.”

Montes was one of several speakers at a news conference Friday morning in front of Riverside City Hall. In the evening more than 300 people attended a kickoff reception. It included a Taste of Riverside by six restaurants and a roundtable with local and state legislators, including U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-46th District, a candidate for U.S. Senate.

The convention will take place Sept. 21-23 at Riverside Convention Center and is expected to bring in 3,000 attendees representing 50 chambers throughout the state as well as 25 corporations seeking to work with small businesses, said Juan Garcia, deputy director of the state chamber.

The state chamber represents 800,000 businesses, and many of them are here.

“There are over 122,000 Latino-owned businesses generating almost $11 billion in annual revenue,” said Juanita Ruiz, regional chairwoman. “That is something for us to be very proud of. This makes the Inland Empire second to Los Angeles County in our state.”

The convention will show off such Riverside landmarks as the Mission Inn, Mount Rubidoux and Fairmount Park, said councilmember Andy Melendrez.

This is only the second time the convention has taken place in the Inland area, according to Montes, and the first time was in Palm Springs.

“It’s been long overdue,” said Dina Esquivel, chairwoman of the Greater Riverside Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “We have a beautiful convention center now and we have the capability to host the convention.”

Esquivel announced two partnerships for the local chamber at the press conference.

• The A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management at UC Riverside will offer MBA programs at a discount to chamber members, Esquivel said.

• La Que Buena 96.1 FM in Hemet will promote chamber members on air for the next year.

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